White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings

Uppingham: Goldmark, 1978. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Fine/Fine. An eminently desirable association copy of the limited edition of Sinclair's first novel, a heady, unhinged mash-up of book trade roman à clef and time-bending Jack the Ripper occultism. In addition to the called-for signatures of Sinclair and artist Rigby Graham, this copy has also been signed by one of the book's two dedicatees, guitarist and legendary bookscout Martin Stone. Stone inhabits the novel as the lightly fictionalized character Nicholas Lane. He was also a friend and mentor to Sinclair during Sinclair's own quite successful bookscouting career. In a paean published in the Independent in 1995, Sinclair even went so far as to say of Stone, "Without him, I'd never have found the path into Whitechapel for my first novel." Number 19 in a limited edition of 100 copies signed by Sinclair and artist Rigby Graham on limitation page at rear. With Martin Stone's signature penned below his name on the dedication page, along with a self-deprecating qualification of Sinclair's praise. Stone has also annotated the first line of the novel, adding the phrase "and rather annoying" to the description of an "interesting condition of the stomach." Octavo, 9.5 x 6.5 in. Grey cloth boards, as issued in acetate jacket with numbered spine card and black cloth slipcase. Frontispiece and three text illustrations by Rigby Graham, with signed and numbered etching of the frontispiece laid into a pocket at rear. A fine copy, entirely without flaw.